Darian's Tale (The Owl Trilogy)
fantasy
Series · urban fantasy
Word and Void
The Word and Void series by Terry Brooks has 3 known books (3 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Running with the Demon (1997).
- Books
- 3 known books (3 novels)
- Published
- 3
- First published
- 1997
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Fantasy
Start here: Running with the Demon (1997)
— then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Running with the Demon
Running with the Demon opened Word and Void in 1997 at 420 pages -- its longest volume -- introducing John Ross and Nest Freemark as a demon arrives in small-town Hopewell, Illinois, over a single fateful Fourth of July weekend. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Running with the Demon - Book 2:
A Knight of the Word
A Knight of the Word followed in 1998 at 397 pages, picking up years later as a guilt-stricken Ross seeks out Nest again for a mission against a corrupted magician in Seattle. Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Knight of the Word - Book 3:
Angel Fire East
Angel Fire East closed the trilogy in 1999 as its shortest entry at 368 pages, bringing Ross's confrontation with a traitorous former Knight of the Word to its peak. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Angel Fire East
Key facts about the Word and Void series
The Word and Void series has 3 books on our list. Since all 3 are out now, you can read the whole list today.
Start with Running with the Demon, since it opens the publication order in 1997. A Knight of the Word is book 2, from 1998. Angel Fire East is book 3, from 1999.
Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.
The books came out between 1997 and 1999, while their length runs from 368 to 420 pages. That is a run of 2 years.
Terry Brooks has 44 books on our list. Additionally, they write The Original Shannara Trilogy, The Magic Kingdom of Landover and The Heritage of Shannara, plus 9 more series. We shelve the books under urban fantasy.
About the Word and Void series
Terry Brooks's Word and Void trilogy is his only Shannara-adjacent work set in the real, contemporary world, following John Ross, a Knight of the Word cursed with visions of a devastated future America if he fails in his mission, and Nest Freemark, a girl in small-town Hopewell, Illinois, whose latent magic and family secrets make her central to the hidden fight between the Word (order, magic, and the natural world) and the Void (chaos and corruption). Running with the Demon introduces both characters as a demon arrives in Hopewell during a single fateful Fourth of July weekend, hunting Nest before she comes into her power. A Knight of the Word picks up years later as an older Ross, guilt-stricken over a failure of nerve that let horrific violence occur, seeks out Nest again for a mission against a corrupted magician threatening a Seattle homeless shelter. Angel Fire East closes the trilogy as Ross confronts a former Knight of the Word turned traitor, with the stakes for both the real world and the future Ross has glimpsed reaching their peak.
Though it can be read as a self-contained contemporary fantasy trilogy, Word and Void is revealed -- across Brooks's later Genesis of Shannara books -- to be a direct prequel to the entire Shannara saga, explaining how a nuclear apocalypse in Ross's future becomes the post-collapse world the Four Lands eventually rise from.
Frequently asked questions
Is Word and Void part of the Shannara series?
It's set in the contemporary real world rather than the Four Lands and works as a standalone trilogy, but it's later revealed (in the Genesis of Shannara books) to be a distant prequel explaining Shannara's post-apocalyptic origins.
What order should I read Word and Void in?
Publication order: Running with the Demon, A Knight of the Word, Angel Fire East — also the internal chronology.
Do I need to have read any Shannara books first?
No. Word and Void is set in modern-day America and needs no prior knowledge of the Four Lands or any other Shannara book.
Who are John Ross and Nest Freemark?
John Ross is a Knight of the Word, granted power (and haunted by visions of a devastated future) to fight the forces of the Void; Nest Freemark is a girl from Hopewell, Illinois, whose latent magic and family history make her central to that fight.
What should I read after Word and Void?
The Genesis of Shannara trilogy (Armageddon's Children, The Elves of Cintra, The Gypsy Morph) continues directly from where Angel Fire East leaves off and reveals the trilogy's connection to Shannara.
How many books are in the Word and Void series?
3: Running with the Demon (1997), A Knight of the Word (1998), and Angel Fire East (1999).
If you like the Word and Void series
Last updated